MicVelo

Was watching a show on NBC SN about "Japan Car Culture" and came upon a very simple but eloquent and right-on-the-money comment a guy made contrasting the Japanese car culture versus elsewhere:

"Here in Japan, anything is accepted. If someone wants to lower their big family sedan, it's acceptable. That versus, say, the United States, where you're judged by what you do to your car. It's much more friendly in Japan where you share a love for anything to do with a car."

You hear that people?? You can't be "JDM as f**k" if you gonna diss on others' choice of cars, parts, whatever. Just be happy they are enthusiasts.

But seriously..... maybe this should be in the "Declining expectations..." thread but it's so true. People get judged here daily and it makes me rather ill. I don't see the point nor joy in being an armchair critic...??

Fridge Gnome

All of this, yes. Everyone likes to make their car unique. But if there's only a few "acceptable" ways to make it unique, then what's the point.

soc_monki

iTrader: (2)

i agree...even though i may not like what someone else does to their car, it is ultimately their car. taking a Z and slamming it and adding so much camber to the point that its no longer usable to me is pointless, but if someone likes it then who am i to judge?

also, Donked cars. havent seen many around lately, but did see 2 yesterday, and they made me smile. totally useless and probably unsafe, but at least they made me giggle!

Suffolk350z

No one can pass judgment on you ... unless you let them!

Osborn Wu

let's see who is smiling when the flood came in

dkmura

iTrader: (64)

I watched the same /DRIVE show on NBCSC before the F1 race. It's a program that seeks to compare/contrast different car scenes from around the world. Unfortunately, what wasn't said was that Japanese car culture is itself changing, and not always for the better. The overall number of drivers is shrinking as the next generation seems to be more interested in mass transportation and using technology to connect (sound familiar?). Worse, JDM demand has been in recession for years and most automotive enthusiasts are in the minority. Not exactly an enviable position to be in, if you know anything about Japanese culture in general.

turboed350z

i agree and disagree. if someone removes a safety device, EI, stock seat belts for a harness coupled with a harness bar for street use only. Or the ones running extreme camber, to where they're rocking 315 tires but contact point is about 205. Or how about the idiots that disconnects their steering wheel while driving, yea at that point i am going to get judgmental.

another point to where ill get judgmental is when people who runs knock offs wants to argues that their parts are just as good if not better than the quality parts.

other than that, i really couldn't care less. just don't put my life, and your life in danger with your ridiculous camber and disconnect wheels, and i wont care how your car looks. if you accept the fact that your cast wheel isn't as good as my forged wheels, i wont care that you're rocking rotas.

hell, you can put a 6" lift kit on your 350z sitting on 30s chrome spinners with vertical doors and i wont really care, ill say it looks stupid, but ill let you know that thats just my worthless opinion. but the min you start doing dumb crap like doing 120 in traffic, weaving in and out, ill call you stupid and that will be a fact.

but again,m this is just my worthless 2 cents lol

terrasmak

iTrader: (8)

I can respect workmanship on a build, even some of the stupid hopping cars have some quality work. But couldn't really care , stupid is stupid, the jdm parts are mostly overpriced junk, and their focus is now on Hello kitty and other crap these days

GreyZ

iTrader: (2)

If its done well its cool, no matter the style. Wether a fresh donk or a track car that happens to be street legal. On the other hand; a halfway job, such as bondo panels, or unpainted body kits just look like trash and will never gain my respect.

PP08HR

iTrader: (2)

People talk bad about others because they have an ego issue or inferiority complex. People like this talk down to people thinking it makes them look better or more superior. Cars really don't have anything to do with this phenomenon. It's just weak azz people trying to be cooler than they really are.

Z33Garage

iTrader: (3)

The issues is when people post pics of their "modded car" and ASK FOR OPINIONS, which is what occurs 99.999% of the time, and yet they cry "hater" when people tell them how much their car resembles as it was put together using grabastic pieces of amphibian excrement.

I dont care if you take a gorilla's nether region hair on the your own car's body using a mixture of zebra semen and powdered fetus. If you like so be it, now the moment you post about it, and ask what the internet thinks of it, you will not have a good day.

MicVelo

Let's test that theory.

So, I just got my car back from Earl Shreib. Saved up my lunch money for some mods. I think it looks really boss now.



Whadya guys think? Bishun' hunh hunh?















They were out of gorilla pubes, darn it.

turboed350z

when you want a phantom but you got 350z money.

dkmura

iTrader: (64)

You're makin' me laugh here, Mic! Bitchin' indeed.

WPPJR30

iTrader: (27)

It's funny. Reading some of the responses to this post, I feel as though some people may be missing the desired message Mr. MicVelo is attempting to convey. Not only that, I feel like people are illustrating, in their responses, exactly what the OP is saying turns him off.

Modifying cars is not a new phenomenon. It has been a reality since automobiles were invented. I believe the rise and growth of social media has both positively and negatively influenced the modifying culture - in more than one way. We all have opinions as to how a car should be modified. My interpretation is going to be different than the next guy's. That diversity and individuality is what is supposed to make this modifying culture great. In the way that modifying cars should unite us, it has begun to also turn us against one and other. It's not only an Import versus Domestic debate anymore, or a Ford versus Chevy or Honda versus Nissan dispute. You can see it on this forum every day. Member A, who happened to build his Z for track use, sees Member B, who owns a Show-Going Z, install a part that may not be "necessary" for a show car because he will never fully utilize it and it is open season on that Z owner and, thus, the flaming ensues.

I do not believe the OP's quote is suggesting that modifying enthusiasts are not allowed to have opinions. That would be ridiculous. I believe it is suggesting that we should at least try to embrace the idea that there may be contrasting opinions out there. Instead, the scene seems to be on its way to a "Well, I wouldn't do that with my ride, so it's wrong. F*ck that guy..." type of culture. One of the negative effects of vast social media outlets is the faceless anonymity of ripping someone's ride without having to look them in the eye. I absolutely agree that if you ask for opinions on your car, then you should be ready for anything and everything. However, there is also a tactful, polite way to dish out criticism.

The other aspect of this quote is the idea of "JDM" as having one specific meaning. It does not mean modifying "purity" or Function over Form. It is not about performance over aesthetics. One of the truly fascinating and intriguing things about the Japanese car culture is that anything and everything is accepted. That is not to say that tuners and enthusiasts in Japan do not have opinions, but it is more of an acknowledgment that the eclectic array of styles and tastes are more openly embraced. My personal definition of "JDM" is that of a lifestyle and a culture as opposed to a narrow reference to a particular notion as it pertains to modifying.

Just my $.02. I'll shut up now…

turboed350z

Not everything on a street car is safe for the track, and not everything for the track is safe to use on the streets. So yes a street car with track mods are actually dangerous and shouldnt be done.

turboed350z

Ohhh the irony of this post....

Frank_White

actually looks pretty phaat

Juztin

iTrader: (9)

Doesn't surprise me. I love to vacation in Japan & HK every year and I'd love to live in either place if I could get the right work assignment. If I did, I would not have a car due to the transportation systems being so ridiculously good and convenient and I wouldn't have a single problem giving up cars to do so.

I can definitely see how the newer generations get away more from car ownership. Growing up in the car culture of the states, after experiencing the transportation there for quite a while I love the lack of a need for cars But since I'm still in the states, I'll keep drinking the cool aid

Justin100

Japan is an awesome place, If i could move and live there forever I would. the general culture is quite friendly. as far as the car scene goes, whenever i saw a person who was into cars, they go all out........i saw a super modified shelby gt500 black and silver stripes on the road, I saw ferrari 458 italias, mclaren mp4-12cs at the lake near mt fuji. I dont think i ever saw a person with a riced out honda civic..........I see riced out cars in the US a lot.......a lot.........

in the asian culture it goes like this.

the high class of the asians is 1st japanese people. 2nd chinese people. 3rd koreans and everything below koreans is low class asians like filipinos, vietnamese, thailand etc......all broke third world countries.

my first exposure to japanese people really came when i moved to hawaii. most of the ones i met were really rich and very intelligent people. i dont see very much japanese people in california growing up.

they deserve the title of number one amongst asians they don't really know what crime is.
their culture is very non-violent. they have a very structural society....

if you look at lets say....the lower class asian countries they are so much into crime, and corruption like vietnam and the phillipines its not even funny.